Ellison Springs
Gorman vicinity, Eastland County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Used for centuries by Indians inhabiting the region. Named for James Madison Ellison (1840-1923), a native of Alabama, who was the first settler in this section of Eastland County, erecting a cabin near the springs in Oct. 1958. He soon married Eliza McGough, a member of another pioneer family, and had 3 children. During the Civil War, frontiersmen organized militia companies for mutual protection against the Indians. Ellison joined the company mustered from Eastland, Shackelford, and Callahan Counties. On Aug. 9, 1864, a group of 12 scouts from the company was attacked near the springs, and took refuge in Ellison's cabin. The commander, Capt. Singleton Gilbert, and Leroy "Button" Keith were killed, and Ellison, Tom Gilbert, and Tom Caddenhead wounded. Ellison was disabled for life. After cessation of Indian activity, Ellison Springs became the center of social and cultural functions for the scattered settlers in the area. Picnics, community gatherings, and brush arbor camp meetings were held at the site. In the early 1870s, a Baptist church was constructed, with the Rev. C. Brashears as minister. A cemetery was begun in the mid-1870s. The present frame house at the springs was built by Ellison in 1886. (1974)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
These springs were used for centuries by Indigenous people before James Madison Ellison built the first cabin nearby in 1858. During the Civil War, frontiersmen formed militia companies for defense, and on August 9, 1864, a dozen scouts were attacked here and took refuge in Ellison's cabin—Captain Singleton Gilbert and "Button" Keith were killed and Ellison was disabled for life. Once the raids ceased, the springs became a gathering place for picnics, camp meetings, and a Baptist church, a social hub for the scattered settlers.
Why it matters
The springs distill the collision and continuity of the Texas frontier—Indigenous ground, deadly conflict, and then the community life that took root in its aftermath.
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Related people
- · James Madison Ellison
- · Singleton Gilbert
Related events
- · 1864 Ellison Springs Indian attack
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Ellison Family Graveyard
Gorman vicinity, TX
James Madison Ellison built the first cabin in this part of Eastland County in 1858 and was permanently disabled defending frontier homes in a militia company against Indian raids. He opened this graveyard after his mother—a Georgia-born midwife—died in 1876, and though meant for family, it always welcomed neighbors and strangers, including an unknown child from a westering family who died on his land. Twenty-six graves rest here, and after prospering in the county's 1918 oil boom and moving south, Ellison too was brought back to lie among them.
Fort Blair, C.S.A.
Desdemona, TX
A few miles southwest stood Fort Blair, the largest of the far-western "family forts" that sheltered settlers through the Civil War years when regular troops were away. Started by C.C. Blair in 1857, its dozen log cabins were linked by pickets, and its families made their own candles, soap, food, and clothing from whatever the land offered while defending against Indian raids. After the war the site became the town of Desdemona, which boomed when oil was struck in 1918.
Alameda Cemetery
Desdemona vicinity, TX
This burial ground began when pioneer William Mansker set aside part of his land for a school and community cemetery in the mid-19th century, serving Anglo settlers drawn together by the hardships of frontier Texas. Family clusters like the four Bell children who died in 1877, graves marked only by fieldstones, and the interment of veterans of several wars all testify to the precarious lives of those who built the Alameda community.
Early Settlers of Eastland County
Eastland, TX
Cattle grazed the Eastland County grasslands in the 1850s, and the U.S. Army's frontier forts drew a first trickle of families from the older Southern states. The Civil War emptied the region when the garrisons withdrew and settlers fled to fortified refuges like Blair's Fort, but pioneers returned afterward and organized the county in 1873. A contested county-seat fight moved the government from Merriman to the newly founded town of Eastland in 1875.